Public Knowledge

To the challenges posed by the power of digital platforms, we need a “Digital Platform Act” to create an agency specifically charged to regulate digital platforms on an ongoing basis. An expert agency over digital platforms can analyze and study the market to determine when regulation or enforcement are needed, including if:

As Congress and other relevant stakeholders debate how to protect Americans’ privacy, a key concern is making sure that new legislation doesn’t entrench the power of big tech incumbents. In this post, we argue that incorporating data interoperability into privacy legislation is essential to empowering consumers’ data rights and fostering a competitive marketplace. In a nutshell, interoperability means enabling different systems and organizations to communicate with each other and work together.

The Federal Communications Commission is required by law to initiate a notice of inquiry and report annually on whether advanced telecommunications capability is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion. This annual broadband report is incredibly important because the findings and conclusions are designed to help Congress and the FCC develop policies that ensure all Americans have robust broadband access. Reports with inaccurate data on broadband availability can skew the findings and prevent unserved and underserved areas from gaining access to broadband.

On April 12, the Federal Communications Commission announced a plan for promoting 5G which includes the nation’s largest spectrum auction in Dec 2019 and the promised future creation of a $20.4 billion rural broadband investment fund, “The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund,” to help close the digital divide. Harold Feld said, "April 12’s announcement raises many questions. Most importantly, where will this money come from and over how many years?